


Ming-Hua Week

by Relmarrowny



Series: Red Lotus Appreciation Weeks [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, will edit these eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 02:08:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4901449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relmarrowny/pseuds/Relmarrowny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some short fics for Ming-Hua week</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One: Childhood

The snow crunched under her feet as she picked up her pace. Two boys had been following her, asking the same questions over and over.

“Come on just tell us!” one demanded. “I mean you don’t have arms, everyone’s wondering.”

Despite the bitter cold, her face started to feel warm. They wouldn’t take the hint and she had enough. 

She whirled around.

“Will you just shut up!” Unaware to her, the nearby ice melted and followed her shoulder’s motion. The water whipped at the boys knocking them too the ground.

They both let out a scream.

She blinked unable to believe what had happened. But then her heart started racing and she ran to their side to heal. “I’m sorry! I don’t know why-”  

A hand clamped down hard on her shoulder and she was pulled away from the boys.

A woman, her face red, glared at her. 

“Again Ming-Hua?” She put herself between Ming-hua and the boys and then knelt down next to them.

“I didn’t mean to!”

The woman turned giving her an icy look. “You need to go home.”

* * *

At home, she sat with her head buried in her knees. Arrluk, one of the leaders of the tribe, was in the adjacent room talking to her mother.

“You need to keep an eye on her!” she barely heard Arrluk scold her mother. “This is the second time she’s hurt someone!”

She cringed remembering the last time it had happened. Some older kids were teasing her, and after having enough, she yelled at them to stop. But like earlier, the ice around her melted and followed her shoulder motions towards the kids. 

“Don’t worry I will.” Her mother’s voice exasperated. “But maybe she could learn…”

“We’ve already told you, she never have the control needed for water bending.” Arrluk cut her off. “And do you really think she should learn after she hurt those kids?”

Her mother was silent.

“Listen, we agreed to let her learn to heal.”

It was true, her mother had spent weeks convincing one of the healers to agree to train her. As much as Ming-Hua was grateful to learn, spending the rest of her life working in a healing hut wasn’t appealing to her. No matter how hard she studied, learning about chi paths and anatomy, her teacher never seemed to be impressed. But Ming-Hua was fully aware that she didn’t want her as a student, believing it to be a waste of time.

 She’d much rather learn to fight, but they told her it wouldn’t be possible for her to master any of the water bending styles. That and the fact that she didn’t have hands would make it impossible for her to have any control over the water.

When Arrluk was finished with his lecture, her mother saw him to the door. After saying her goodbyes, she entered the room with her head hung and sat next to Ming-Hua.

“I wasn’t trying to water bend. It just happened.” Ming-Hua said quietly.

Her mother sighed and put her arm around her. “I believe you…” She paused looking up to the ceiling. “but maybe you should stay inside for a few days.”

Ming-Hua groaned. But her mother was right, it was probably for the best. She remembered how angry everyone was the last time and how no one would believe her when she told them she wasn’t trying to water bend. That is, if they would even bother to listen.

“Come on, we can spend time together and play some of those games.” Her mother was already reaching for one. “It’ll only be for a few days.”

Ming-Hua sighed. She had long stopped caring for those games, but there wasn’t much else to do. “Might as well.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm basically using this week as an excuse to write her backstory. I'll only be doing three to four days. (And the fourth chapter will be an AU.) Some more of her story will eventually be revealed in the fic I am writing.


	2. Day 3: Disability

She sat at the water’s edge with her head buried into her knees. Hours ago she had gotten word of the accident and that her mother had been one of the victims. They wouldn’t give the full details of what had happened. All she was told was that her mother and her co-workers were on their way home with a shipment from the Earth Kingdom and that there was faulty equipment.

She heard footsteps behind her and then someone sat down beside her. A quick glance told her it was Arrluk.

“Ming-“ he began, his voice unusually gentle.

“What’s going to happen to me?” she asked in a small voice. Her grandmother had died the previous year and she had never met her father. It was doubtful that he even knew she existed. As far as she knew, she had no other living family.

Arrluk breathed out. “We’re going to find a foster family for you … but until then, we’ll have you stay at the hospital.”

She looked up, her vision blurry. “The hospital?” She blinked back tears. “But I’m not sick!”

“It’s only temporary.” Arrluk said. “And don’t worry, they can take care of you.”

She rested her chin on her knees, not liking the idea. The last time she had been there was when her grandmother had been a patient a little over a year ago. And she knew of other kids that had been orphaned, and none of them had to wait more than a day for a family to adopt them.

“How long will I be there?”

“Probably only for a few days.” Arrluk said smiling. “I’ll be talking to some families about taking you in.”

She eyed both of her shoulders and remembered the whispers she would over hear from other adults. How they felt sorry for her mother, when they wondered how difficult it was to raise her, and if she would need lifelong care. She buried her head back into her knees and attempted to suppress a sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll be putting day three before day two. The story I had planned for day two takes place after day three.


	3. Day 2: Meeting

It had been weeks since she had arrived at the small port town. And things hadn’t been easy. Her days were spent warding off potential muggings, finding a shelter for the night, and seeking out the vendor too busy to notice if one of his produce went missing.

 Exhausted from the day, she sat under an awning as it rained.

 _“They’ll take care of you. It’s only temporary.”_ Arrluk's words echoed.

_Yeah right._

She was at the hospital nearly six months in the long term care unit, and had long given up that anyone was coming for her. And it had become clear after only a month, that she had to get out of there. 

She had made a previous escape attempt, but was stopped by others in the tribe. She tried to explain everything but a doctor and a nurse caught up carrying her chart.

 _Anger Issues, compulsive liar, unpredictable…_ were written.The doctor was well respected and nothing she could say would convince anyone that he was lying.

Needing to find another way to escape, she spent any time alone in her room teaching herself to water bend. When she was confident enough in her abilities, she made her second attempt late at night. It was cold and she didn’t have a coat or boots, but she managed to make it to the docks and stow away on boat headed for the Earth Kingdom in the morning, swearing never to return.

It was getting dark and she hadn’t eaten yet that day. She got up and walked to produce stand, carrying the little bit of money she had stolen in a pouch in her mouth. Her hospital clothes were getting ratty and she could only imagine the state of her hair. But she walked, passing wanted posters with her name. Days ago she overheard people joking how amusing it was that the police couldn’t catch a little girl. But she had once attacked a vendor that caught her stealing. It was out of desperation and nothing serious. 

But what particularly upset the cops, was the time she froze two of them against a building and then proceeded to take their money before running off. That's what got her the wanted poster.

“Hey Ming.” The vendor greeted. He sat next to his son, who looked rather annoyed that he had to be working, despite being under a shelter.

 She was one of his usual customers and as far as she knew, he hadn’t been aware that she'd stolen from him a few times.

Ming-Hua looked for the freshest vegetables, only having enough money to afford one. Didn’t matter, one was all she could carry.

“Ming, why don’t you wait right here, we have something for you.” He smiled and got up.

Hopefully it was something useful, like a pair of shoes, or bag to carry more stuff. His son waited with her, never once saying a word.

The vendor returned with police behind him. “Right there.”

The soldiers started for her. Panicking, and lucky that it was raining, she kicked up water and ran, never seeing the result of her attack. Unfortunately, one was an earthbender and made the ground below her uneven. She stumbled and fell and quickly scrambled to get up. She attacked once again and ran, doing her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her ankle.

 Ming-Hua ran, stumbling around the corner and frantically looking for a place to hide. An arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into an alley.

She struggled to get free and was about to water bend but a hand cupped over her mouth. Long black nails dug into her cheek.

“Calm down or you’ll get us both arrested.” She was surprised to hear a woman's voice. She managed to look up so see  a very tall girl, with beautiful crimson eyes and a bandanna covering her forehead. Her face got a little warm looking at her.

The girl loosened her grip on Ming-Hua. “Come on, before they find us.” The girl’s eyes bore into her, almost making Ming-Hua want to look away.

It went against her better judgement to follow. Who knew where the girl was leading her. But had she gone the other way, she’d run into the cops.  And it was no help that she was injured and needed time to heal.

She eyed the girl up and down. She was lanky and a bit awkward.

_I could take her._

The girl led her down the steps to a basement apartment. Almost immediately after the door was opened, her mouth watered as she was greeted by the smell of curry.

“Zaheer, I found the waterbender.” She announced closing the door behind them.

She stifled a groan. _Great there’s two._ She could feel a flutter in her stomach.

A boy about their age, a scar over his eye brow, turned the corner, and glanced at her and then to the tall girl.

Zaheer got up on his tip toes and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek. Her icy expression melted into a smile and she scrunched up a little, grinning widely. Ming-Hua wanted to gag.

Ming-Hua looked Zaheer up and down. _I can take them both._ Although she wasn’t as confident as before.  Inside, out of the rain, the only water she had was her soaking wet clothes. And she didn’t like the sound of what P’li said.

“What do you mean you found me?” She narrowed her eyes at them.

Zaheer looked at her. “P’li and I saw you the other day, and we figured you needed help. But you were so fast and we couldn’t find you.”

She glared at him. “There are a lot of people out there who need help.”

“We saw you take down a cop.” P’li began. “And we were impressed.” She had a tight lipped smile as she finished. But then she looked Ming-Hua up and down. “And you do need help.”

Ming-Hua was noticeably thin. There were days when she lucky to get one meal, which usually ended up being a single piece of fruit.

P’li gestured her to follow further into the apartment, which didn’t have much. Just an old worn couch, a stove, a small table, and a few books stacked in a corner. Ming-Hua limped over to a chair, dripping water, and started to heal her ankle.

P’li disappeared through a door and Zaheer sat down next to her.

“Where did you learn to waterbend?” He asked. “I didn’t think it was possible to do without arms.”

“I taught myself.” She would only look at him out of the corner of her eyes.

He must have taken the hint because he got up to check on the curry.

 _Okay, when your ankle is healed, make a run for it._ But the damn curry was too inviting.

Before she was finished healing, P’li returned in a completely different outfit and carrying an extra set of clothes. The bandana was now gone, revealing a tattoo on her forehead.

“They’re going to be big on you, but you can wear these.” She set the clothes on the table and then looked at Ming-Hua. “Are you going to need help?”

“No!” What did this girl think she had been doing for the past months?

She debated whether or not to leave right there. But she was freezing and it was still raining outside. Her hospital clothes were becoming rags and it would be nice to have something else to wear.

She took the clothes to the bathroom by carrying between her shoulder and her chin. Dropping them on the floor, she used her water bending to dry herself off, and then turned on the sink with her foot. The water started out as a rust color but once it became clear, she gathered some up, as well as the access water from the rain, and made two small water tendrils. A technique she had been working on. At the very least, it would give the impression that she had arms.

The clothes were way too big, making her look ridiculous. She could have worn the top as a dress.

“I’ll find something that fits you tomorrow.” P’li said tying a sash around her waist. “I’m sure there’s something cheap out there.”

“Right.” Ming-Hua doubted she’d be there tomorrow. But her choices were between the hospital clothes and the oversized clothes.

Although she was starving, she waited until P’li and Zaheer took the first bite of the food. She still didn’t have complete control over the water tendrils and did spill some of the food.

She kept her eyes on Zaheer and P’li only half listening to Zaheer talk about what was going on in Ba Sing Sei. He had nothing kind to say about the Queen. P’li would nod every once in a while, but otherwise didn’t say much.

 _They don’t seem so bad._ She thought but then frowned. _No this is all too good to be true. They want something._

She felt sleepy after dinner, not remembering the last time she felt that full. P’li took her over to the couch.

 _I should leave._ P’li had gone into the other room with Zaheer.

But it was still raining outside and though the couch was worn, it was still far more comfortable than whatever she would find outside.

 “Just for a little bit.” She told herself before dozing off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I can finally start being nice to her.
> 
> Didn't write the hospital stuff because I'm not too comfortable writing that. In the fic I'm writing (these backstories go with it, but I wrote them in such a way that they could work for canon so that anyone reading the fics wasn't confused XD) it was going to hinted at from another character. 
> 
> And sorry for the info dump at the beginning.


	4. Alternate Universe

She finally arrived at the South Pole, a decision she made on a whim.  It had been years since she had visited the Southern Water Tribe and she was eager to get in touch with old friends.

 But that day, everyone seemed somber as they kept quiet and to themselves. It was the middle of the day during the summer months and hardly anyone was outside.

Looking around, she spotted Arrluk, who was waving goodbye to a couple.

“What’s going on?” Kya approached him. “Why does everyone seem so sad?”

“Kya?” he blinked looking at her. “I didn’t expect you to be here…” His head then lowered.

“Anyway, there was an accident earlier. Six drowned.” He sighed and shook his head. “And unfortunately one was Mayu and I’ve been trying to find someone to take in her daughter.”

She raised her eye brow at him. The tribe was a tight knit community, there should have been people stepping up to take in an orphaned child. “You’re trying? Why does it sound like you’re having trouble?”

“Well…” He explained everything about Mayu’s daughter Ming-Hua. Her disability, her anger issues, the times she hurt others.

The last part particularly caught Kya’s attention.

“Wait, it’s fairly common for kids to water bend under extreme emotion.” She recalled the day she accidently buried Bumi under a mountain of snow when he wouldn’t stop teasing her. “Especially before they have it mastered. Is anyone teaching her to control it?”

Arrluk shook his head and explained their concerns about her not having the proper control and that they thought she was best suited to healing.

Kya had to take a deep breath to keep her cool. This was unacceptable and she was already planning a trip to Republic City. Her mother would leave for the tribe the instant she heard of this and raise hell.

“So what are your plans for her?”

“Well I’ve asked a few people to take her in, but they are all waiting for someone else to do it first.” He paused.  “I’m thinking of sending her to stay at the hospital until I find someone.”

“The hospital? She’s twelve year old! She doesn’t belong there!” _And why can’t you and your wife take her temporarily?_

“I know… but it’s all I can do. The doctor even thinks its best that she go. The staff can take care of her,” He paused as though looking the right word. “Her needs.”

She wanted to roll her eyes.

“Where is she?” Kya managed to ask.

“Last I saw her she was at the ocean by the pier. I’m sure she’s still there.”

“Thank you.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

She saw the little girl sitting at the water’s edge with her face buried into her knees. Kya sighed, wondering why anyone would leave her alone.

 She walked over slowly and sat next to the girl. Ming-Hua glanced at her, eyes red and puffy, and then buried her face back into her knees.

The girl looked so distraught that Kya wanted to throw her arms around her right there.

“Are you okay sweetie?”

“What do you think? My mom is dead.” She sniffled.

“I know and I’m sorry.” She reached out to put her hand on her shoulder, but Ming-Hua pulled away.

So she sat next to her while the girl cried into her knees. She could at least be there for her.

 Every so often, Ming-Hua would briefly look over at her, possibly to see if she was still there. Finally she spoke.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to me.”

Kya felt her heart breaking, not wanting to mention the hospital. “Arrluk is looking for a family to take you in.” She immediately regretted what she said, only wanting to give her some hope. But from what Arrluk said, it didn’t seem like anyone was going to foster her.

Ming-Hua raised her head and turned sharply towards Kya. “No one is going to take me!”

 The water from the ocean raised up and started to move towards Kya. But Kya easily stopped it with her own waterbending. She was lucky that she was a water bender.

Ming-Hua blinked when she saw what had happened and then started to tremble.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

Kya held up her hand and said as gently as possible. “I know, its okay.”

Someone needed to instruct her in water bending, or this would only keep happening. Kya noticed that the water followed Ming-Hua’s shoulder motions, the point where she would manipulate water.

But this girl was going to be sent to live in a hospital, where she wouldn’t get any water bending instruction. The very thought made her sick as did the decision not to

_Really? No one will take her in?_

She thought of all the people in the tribe she had known. Many people she thought of had been friends of hers years ago. Some had moved away from the Southern Water Tribe, others lived lives that would make it difficult to raise a child. She wasn’t sure who Arrluk had in mind but there had to be someone that could take her in.

But then a thought occurred to her. _Wait, I’m someone._

She never imagined herself adopting an older child. The idea of having a young child always frightened her. She didn’t want to spend months being pregnant, and then years changing diapers, being limited on how long she could be out, and going through a nightmarish toddler stage.

 But a girl that was almost a teenager… that might not be so bad.

She looked at Ming-Hua, who was resting her chin on her knees. It would be a lot of work, more than a typical kid. But, as much as she loved to travel the world, she could move back to Air Temple Island for a few years and raise her there. Her parents would help, as would Sokka and Suki. Maybe Lin would even stop by from time to time. As for her brothers, Bumi was away with the military, he wouldn’t be around. And Tenzin was way into Air Nomad culture and probably wouldn’t pay much mind to her. But she’d have enough support.

She could teach the girl water bending. She and her mother could find a way to adapt the techniques for her. And maybe Ming-Hua already had her own ideas.

“Ming-Hua.” She spoke. Ming-Hua looked up at her.

“How would you like to come live with me?”

Ming-Hua lifted her head. “What?”

“We can go to Republic City. That’s where my parents live.” Kya smiled at her.

Her eyes widened. “Wait, I’ll get to leave this place?”

“Yeah, is that okay?” If Ming-Hua had really wanted it, Kya could make arrangements to move to the Southern Water Tribe. 

“When do we leave?” Ming-Hua perked up and had the situation been a little different, she may have been ready to leave that instant.

“Well I was planning on staying her for two weeks, so after that?”

Ming-Hua smiled.

“Why don’t we get your things? We can bring them to my place.” It was actually the place her parents would stay when they would visit the tribe. But she and her brothers were allowed to use it. Not that any of them visited often.

They walked through the snow, Ming-Hua leading the way to her home. But she stopped and looked back at Kya.

“You’re parents live in Republic City?”

“Yeah, at Air Temple Island.”

“Air Temple Island?” Ming-Hua repeated eying her. “Wait who are you?”

“My name is Kya.” She almost laughed realizing that she hadn’t introduced herself to Ming-Hua.

Ming-Hua’s eyes were wide. “Are you Katara and the Avatar’s daughter?”

“Yep, sure am.” She grinned.

_Though I guess that now makes you their granddaughter._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally it was going to be Katara that took her in, but Kya didn't get much to do in LOK, so I gave this one to her. I kind of want to write more in this AU. We'll see.
> 
> I also figured that Katara lived most of her life with Aang in Republic City. I'm not sure about Sokka. I thought he also lived in Republic City? But then he later became Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. Not sure when he became chief, but for this fic, he's still in Republic City.


End file.
